Is there anything better than a large bowl loaded with vegan pasta salad? It’s perfect for any summer BBQ, as a side dish, or a quick and easy dinner.

Especially the use of sun-dried tomatoes and roasted pine nuts give this salad a very flavorful taste. I love to make it with bow tie pasta, but every short pasta shape works great. Use gluten-free or chickpea pasta for a healthier version (summer = bikini time).

This easy pasta salad is compatible for a large crowd → use the slider in the recipe card to scale the serving size/amount of ingredients. Another bonus point is that you can prepare it one day in advance.

How To make pasta salad

Making this pasta salad recipe is very easy and doesn’t need a lot of cooking skills. The most important thing is to cook your pasta al dente, cause soft overcooked pasta doesn’t taste in cold pasta salad. I recommend always sticking to the cooking time as stated on the packaging.

Make sure to let them cool for at least 15 minutes before mixing them with the salad dressing – lukewarm is ok, they don’t need to be entirely cold.

The next step is to chop the ingredients. I love chopping mine very thin but do as you please and adapt the salad to your taste. Also, substitute or add more veggies such as olives, bell pepper, or rocket.